Seniors regularly graduate from high school with no plan for their future, and they may spin their employment wheels for years without moving forward.
There were a lot of reasons for students to be excited about this Future Fair Hiring Event. Photo courtesy of Future Career Academy
Seniors regularly graduate from high school with no plan for their future, and they may spin their employment wheels for years without moving forward.
Local businesses have indicated they would like to connect with young people when they are 18 rather than 25 to get them on their career paths early.
To address these needs, and others, Yvonne Fry founded the Future Career Academy in Plant City in 2015. The Future Career Academy focuses on revealing to students in-demand jobs that offer long-term career growth and sustainable employment. The organization accomplishes this by cultivating relationships between Hillsborough County Public Schools, and community and business partners.
One of the unique things about the partnership between the schools, the companies, and the Future Career Academy is multiple times throughout the year Fry arranges meeting in which business leaders visit schools to meet with education officials to discuss job trends and current opportunities. These have been “super beneficial,” said Warren Brooks, Workforce Connections Officer for Hillsborough County Public Schools. “It is a great way for the business community to allow the Officers at schools know the growth and the things that are coming.”
Today, schools across Hillsborough County make use of curriculum developed by the Future Career Academy to teach students soft skills like how to dress and how to interview for jobs to better prepare them to gain good careers. The program was such a success it currently provides curriculum and programs to over 16,000 graduating seniors in all 32 high schools, career, and exceptional centers in Hillsborough County Public Schools.
These schools, employment organizations, and businesses worked together to hold a Future Fair Hiring Event on Thursday, April 25 in Plant City. Busload after busload of students from Plant City High School, Durant High School, Strawberry Crest High School and Simmons pulled up to the Trinkle Center on the Hillsborough Community College campus— 400 seniors in all. As lines of students walked into the building, they were greeted by a crowd of representatives from local businesses cheering, waving signs, and shaking pompoms.
“The hiring partners are friendly, nice, and welcoming,” said Plant City High School senior Mikalah Maull, who is exploring career options in biology such as veterinary medicine.
She is, “Hopeful,” said Haley Wilson, also a senior at Plant City High School. She is looking for internships in healthcare, “There were a lot of resources at the event.”
Employers have communicated they have a lot of open jobs for good people. This event was created to help graduating seniors meet and talk to representatives of those companies who are looking for talent. Some of the attendees will graduate from high school with good jobs with a bright future.
Jose Sanchez, a senior at Simmons Career Center said he came to, “see the jobs that Plant City offers.” He intends to work in, and learn about, business.
Among the officials who appeared at the hiring event were County Commissioner Gwen Myers, Plant City Mayor Nathan Kilton and Vice-Mayor Mary Mathis, Florida Senator Danny Burgess, Florida House Member Lauren Melo, and U.S. Congresswoman Laurel Lee.
“Today’s job fair is such an important opportunity for high school students to connect with area employers,” said Congresswoman Lee. “Today they can actually have interviews and get jobs. Some of Tampa Bay’s very best industries and employers are here to meet with the students. The job fair is a great example of collaboration between businesses and government officials. We have representatives….here today to help these students and these businesses make the connection they need to start their careers. Having good jobs is one of the most important factors in economic growth and health. Tampa Bay is a wonderful place to live and work and raise a family, and having good jobs is a big part of that. We want to ensure that graduating seniors have more access to professions and careers that will set them on a lifelong path toward economic success and stability.”
More than 30 companies, AKA “hiring partners,” and 10 training schools set up tables at the event. Among the wide variety of partners were, Burgess Civil Engineering, Citizens Bank & Trust, Tampa Electric Company, Tampa General Hospital, The City of Plant City, Hillsborough County Technical College, the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office, and Codeboxx, an Information Technology company.
“What they have done here is amazing!” said Aaron Chandler from Springer Peterson Roofing and Sheet Metal in Lakeland. He came to look into the event. “I heard this is a great thing Yvonne and her team put together and I wanted to come over here and see what it is all about.”
Jobs with these employers do not come down to college versus not college. Some of the students may not be able to afford college. But they find out if they work for some of these companies, the companies have a program that will pay for college for employees.
“We are looking for young people who want to be outdoors,” said Aaron Murphy, from Hamilton Engineering & Surverying, Inc. “I started out in the field in an entry-level position and worked my way up to a surveying crew. I took night school. Now I am a professional surveyor and I am the vice president of the company. The surveying industry has no glass ceiling. We want to train up the next group of land surveyors. We’ll pay for colleges and additional training. We want to keep as many people in-house as possible to grow the profession.”
Some of the businesses on site have hired young people directly from the Career Fair who have been great employees. So the companies are back for more.
“We have continually been to these events to recruit for our company,” said James Baker, representing Central Maintenance and Welding, which is located in Lithia. “We have an opportunity for students coming out of high school to work for us and make a good living. An event like this can open their eyes to how many different career fields are in their back yard.” Central Maintenance and Welding recruits a lot of mechanics and welders to work locally. The company also has a field operations team that travels all across the country. Graduates who are hired can work in a fabrication facility or be set up with a local union to start a free-for-them welding apprenticeship program. This four-year program allows the graduates to work and make money while they learn. If they are more interested in being a mechanic, the company can help them pursue that direction too as well as careers as equipment operators or pipe fitters. Once the new hires go through the four-year program, they can become a journeyman, “…making really good money, have a phenomenal pension and health care,” Baker said. “The program is free to them so they will have no debt. At this event last year we had four individuals come through who told us they were interested in welding. We hired them.”
Some of the seniors were familiar with the hiring partners before the event because the Future Career Academy previously set up industry exploration field trips. Once a year seniors take a day to visit several companies and learn about the different types of jobs at that company. For example, a welding company also needs bookkeepers, human resources, and logistics planning in addition to the core business of welding.
“The two biggest takeaways are this is an opportunity for professionals in the industry who have jobs and that have workforce needs to meet our high school students, and it is a great opportunity for our high school students to see all the different options in this community so that when they graduate they can get gainful employment,” summarized Warren Brooks.
